The Upper Delaware: The wild and winding thread that binds us

Callicoon, NY
Callicoon is the site of one of the area’s most popular community events, the Tractor Parade, scheduled for June 12; an Art Deco-style, large-screen movie theatre dating to the 1940s; a riverside park that hosts a bustling farmers’ market on Sundays and open-air concerts throughout the summer; and a number of galleries and antique stores.
Photo copyright Dave Soete

One may be greeted with the wafting scent of smoke from a campfire along the shore, the fragrant burst of blossoms in spring, the fertile dank notes of the fishery, or the winey syrup of fall’s wild grapes.

While the river gives abundantly, it also takes—occasionally stealing lives or destroying property—thereby earning our sober respect. Its might can be truly terrible, its toll at times too high, when the lure of a deceptively peaceful stretch proves too strong for an unprepared swimmer, or raging flood waters rise and claim whatever lies in their course.

The river has also stirred stewardship, spawned battles, awakened activism, divided and brought together individuals and communities over issues that, like the waterway itself, change over time.

But always, and ceaselessly, the river flows, much like the hours that carry each of us through our days here. Ultimately, the Delaware River invites journey, and rewards those who accept the invitation with the gifts of its inestimable riches.